CO2 emissions from new cars in EU continue to decrease

16 February 2004

CO2 emissions from new European passenger cars decreased by 10.8% between 1995 and 2002, according to the 4th Annual Report on CO2 Emissions from New Cars (reporting year 2002), adopted by the European Commission. Despite earlier skeptical predictions, European, Japanese and Korean manufacturers have also reduced CO2 emissions from their fleets in 2002, relative to 2001.

ACEA reported a 2002 CO2 emission figure of 163 g/km, down from 165 g/km in 2001. (In 2002 the European Commission started collecting its own CO2 data. Previously, the car associations themselves reported emissions. The Commission’s 2002 figure for ACEA is 165 g/km. There are also slight changes in 2001 data from the last year report due to corrections for changed test procedure.)

Japanese (JAMA) car’s emissions were at 174 g/km (178 g/km in 2001; 11.2% decrease over 1995-2002), and Korean (KAMA) at 183 g/km (187 g/km in 2001; 7.1% decrease over 1995-2002). The Commission said European and Japanese carmakers were on track in meeting their CO2 reduction goals, while “the Korean car industry is still somewhat lagging behind.”